BOEM and NOAA Complete First-Ever Successful Drone-based Tagging of Endangered Sei Whales in U.S.

Excerpt:  “[Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)] and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have completed the digital acoustic tagging of 14 sei whales in waters offshore Massachusetts – the first time researchers have successfully tagged an endangered species in the United States using an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone. The collected data will shed important light on the whales’ acoustic behavior, which researchers will use to inform mitigation strategies – including passive acoustic monitoring – to protect this endangered species from the potential impacts of offshore wind energy activities.”